Return to Haven
by Zenith Storm
Summary: Holly returns to Haven, but Demons need to be settled down. Will she start a romance with Trouble? And who are the human teens doing in the LEP! H/T, AM, AXOC, OCxOC! Rated T for safety.
1. Prologue Return to Surprises

Returning to Surprises

**Returning to Surprises**

_He took three steps and looked back, but there was nothing but sea and sky._

_Big Brother? He thought, and then…Twins!_

While Artemis discovered that he was a big brother, Holly was being briefed on the events since her absence. Opal had managed to anger enough goblins that she had been burned to a crisp. Ark Sool was in Atlantis as a very unsuccessful lawyer. Mulch and Doohdah Day had several detectives working under them, a branch in Atlantis, and were consultants for the LEP. Foaly had created the Neutrino 4000 and 5000, and was working on another upgrade for the LEP jumpsuits.

"I want to make them as better than the Section 8 gear. Of course, Section 8 is going to hang around a little longer until we get the demons settled. The Commander probably already has someone in charge of that. I want to show you all the gadgets I've made, but some of the features are classified. Only the very best know what those features are, but I'm sure the Commander will let you in the know"

Holly interrupted, "Who exactly is the Commander now that Sool's gone?"

"Oh you'll know in good time. There's still a lot to brief both you and Artemis on, but that needs to be done in a secure location. Some things need to be discussed that would panic the civilians. We'll be back in Haven in about two hours. You should probably get some rest." Foaly whinnied.

Holly nodded wearily. She suddenly was overcome by a wave of exhaustion. As she slipped into unconsciousness, she saw Foaly pull a blanket over her.

"Holly, wake up. I know you're tired, you've been awake for three years, but you need to wake up. We're at Haven's shuttleport." Foaly said while shaking her awake.

"Don't. want. To. Get. Up." Holly mumbled. Suddenly she was soaking wet. "I'm going to kill you, Ponyboy!" She now wide awake, thanks to a pail of ice water.

"Sorry, but you really needed to wake up. You can kill me later, the Commander said he'd be waiting for you." Foaly snickered, for reasons unknown to Holly. She resolved to ask him later.

As they exited the shuttle, Holly was met by an amazing site. Two human teenagers, a boy and a girl, were holding a sign reading "WELCOME BACK HOLLY!" No civilians were about, just many LEP officers. When they saw Holly, they let out a cheer. However, instead of leading Holly to an officer, Foaly walked toward the humans. "William and Jazz, I'd like to introduce you to Captain Holly Short. Holly, these two are part of the topics that need to be "briefed about in secure location. Jazz is my assistant. William is training under Ash Vein and at the Academy to join Retrieval One. Where's Commander Kelp?"

Holly's mouth dropped open. "_**Trouble**_ is the new Commander?!"

Jazz laughed. "Yep. You can call me Jasmine, but most people call me Jazz. William here is usually called Willie, but Foaly doesn't think anyone in the LEP should sound like they're permanently scared."

"And Trouble's with his daughter dealing with some joyriding pixies." Willie put in helpfully.

Holly felt her heart plummet for no reason as Jazz hit Willie on the head. "You'd be so tactless if you were right."

**A/N Cliffie! This is my first Fanfic, so constructive criticism is welcome. No Flames please! I'm not going to hold chapters hostage for reviews, but there might not be regular updates since I'll try to get chapters up as soon as I write them.**


	2. Meeting Trouble

Meeting Trouble

**Meeting Trouble**

"_And Trouble's with his daughter dealing with some joyriding pixies." Willie put in helpfully._

_Holly felt her heart plummet for no reason as Jazz hit Willie on the head. "You'd be so tactless if you were right."_

Foaly shook his head. "I think you two just gave Holly a heart attack." To Holly, he added, "The girl they're talking about isn't really Trouble's daughter, but he wants to adopt her. It'll all be explained when we finish up the briefing. If it's joyriding pixies, we should probably just head for Police Plaza. Do either of you have a key card for the tunnels? I left mine in the Ops Booth." Jazz nodded, and slid a card through a slit in the wall. With a thundering grate, a hidden door opened to reveal a long tunnel.

Willie winced at the sound. "You really need to fix that." Turning to Holly, he explained. "Most civilians would panic if they knew mud teens could come and go from Haven as they pleased. Only three of us come down to Haven, but it could be blown out of proportion. So we created this tunnel. It leads straight to Police Plaza. Here, some officers' apartments, Police Plaza, and the Academy are the only places we're allowed to go. It's about three kilometers to Police Plaza, so do you want to walk or take cart?"

"The cart" Holly replied with relief. As they piled in, Holly examined the two humans. Willie was obviously Asian. He was well-built and fairly tall. He was wearing jeans, a black shirt, and combat boots, typical Retrieval One attire. He climbed nimbly onto the top of the cart and pulled Jazz up after him. Jazz looked half-African. In contrast to Willie, Jazz was petite and delicate. Like him, she was wearing jeans. At her belt was a small toolkit, and an earpiece was visible. Willie mentioned a third teen, what was that person like? And who was the girl Trouble wanted to adopt?

Trouble glanced over to Alexa, who was putting handcuffs on the larger pixies. Of the three mud teens that had started visiting Haven two years ago, he cared about her the most. Perhaps it was because she reminded him of Holly. Alexandra Detri was sarcastic, intuitive, fair, and stubborn, exactly like Holly. Speaking of which…Trouble glanced at his monometer. "D'Arvit! Alexa, just knock them out. We were supposed to meet Foaly at the shuttleport twenty minutes ago. It's probably just another false alarm, but Foaly isn't taking chances with Holly's return. I'll tell Chix to pick the pixies up."

Alexa smirked. "Don't bother. Willie tactlessly told them what we were doing." She suddenly scowled. "Anyway, they're going to meet us at Police plaza. You forgot Jazz always wears cameras. I heard it all on my earpiece. And it isn't a false alarm. Holly's back. That's the last one. Let's get the pixies in the car. You really should add a go-kart track, you'd probably get less joyriders."

Trouble had stopped listening as soon as she said "Holly's back". Holly, the one who saved his neck during her initiation, who got captured by Artemis, and was indirectly the reason they even let the three teenagers down here. Holly, his sarcastic, Chix-kicking best friend. How would she respond to all that had happened in the past three years?

"Welcome back to Police Plaza!" Willie proudly said. Holly liked both of the teenagers a lot. Apparently Jazz had accidentally fallen down the E1 chute two years ago. Willie and the third teen, who they refused to identify, had used climbing gear to track her down. Unfortunately for the People, they'd also seen the shuttle the had picked Jazz up. They'd all been taken down to Police Plaza for a mindwipe. Foaly had interrupted there and told them to wait for Holly's briefing. Both of them obeyed after rolling their eyes.

"Holly! How are you? We should celebrate you return. How about we go see a movie, just the two of us? Then we could go out fo-"

"Shut it Chix. I may have been gone for three years, but absence does _not_ make the heart grow fonder. All I want to do is sleep, but I won't be able to do even that until they brief me on why, among other things, in Frond's name you let Trouble become Commander!" Holly exclaimed, exasperated.

Chix didn't seem fazed. "Oh well, it was just a hope. It couldn't be tonight anyway, I've got a date with Lili."

Jazz snorted through her nettle smoothie. "How on earth did you manage that? I thought Frond said she'd only date a guy with more than an ounce of charisma. You don't even have that!"

"I'll have you know she thinks a have a lot of charisma and masculinity! She said only a true man would cry when they heard Holly was back." Chix retorted.

Willie rolled his eyes. "Ash and Trouble cried too, but you don't see her slobbering over them."

"Ash doesn't really count. He's on his honeymoon with Reyna." Jazz pointed out.

"Ash is married! I know he's been dating Reyna for the past decade but I never thought he'd get that serious!" Holly exclaimed.

A deep voice came from behind her. "That's what we all thought, but Ash was planning this for a long time. He just pretended to be uninterested until he had enough money to buy a house." Holly whirled around to see Trouble and a teenaged mudgirl behind her. _So Trouble's "daughter", and the third teen are the same person._

The girl smiled and extended her hand. "I'm Alexa Detri. I'm training with Trouble and at the Academy to get into Recon. Considering that I'm graduating next year, it's great that you're back. I guess you already know Willie and Jazz. So should we get this briefing on the road?" She addressed the room. Willie and Jazz punched the air. "Hell, yeah!"

Trouble grinned. "You three are a handful. Come on, the sooner we finish briefing, the sooner Holly can get some rest."

**A/N I'll end here. The next Chapter will be her briefing and both her and Artemis's debriefing.** **There's a difference. Holly's being briefed on what happened while she was gone. Both Holly and Artemis will debrief the other's on what happened on Hybras.**


	3. Briefing and Debriefing

A/N I messed up on which chute Jazz fell down

**A/N I messed up on which chute Jazz fell down. For all purposes, the three usually live in California, so she fell down E116. I have absolutely no idea why I used the Tara port. Also, we're going to pretend Foaly gave both Artemis and Holly contacts in their original shade.**

**Disclaimer: I forgot this in the 1****st**** two chapters. As much as I wish everyone in Artemis Fowl belonged to me, they are owned by Eoin Colfer. I do, however, own the plot, Alexa, Jazz, and Willie.**

**Briefing and Debriefing**

_Trouble grinned. "You three are a handful. Come on, the sooner we finish briefing, the sooner Holly can get some rest."_

As they entered the Ops booth, Trouble pulled out a projector and logged into one of the computers. Jazz, Willie, and Alexa drifted over to a couch and plunked down on it. Foaly disappeared and reappeared laden with new gadgets.

"According to Alexa, Foaly already mentioned the 'classified features'. I'll let him show you at the end. Obviously, why Alexa, Jazz, and Willie are even here and not mindwiped should be addressed first. Will you three care to explain?"

Jazz nodded. "You know that I fell into E116 and was saved by a shuttle, and that Willie and Alexa saw it to. They took us down to Haven so I could receive medical treatment, and the plan was for the three of us to be mindwiped. Willie and Alexa protested the mindwipe and so officers went to see them both separately for why they thought it was wrong." She looked over at Willie.

He took over. "I told them that it was wrong to take our memories, even if it was only a couple hours' worth. I said that the three of us were trustworthy, we wouldn't tell anyone. Basically, I gave Frond a guilt trip."

Alexa grinned. "You always said you won her over with your charm. Anyways, I did a mix of things. I explained that all three of us were pretty much rejects at our school; they thought we were druggies. While it was a good excuse for our absences when we went doing research, it also meant no one would believe us even if we told the truth. I was also getting over an emotional ordeal, so I came of depressed. Trouble took pity on me and said that as long as we didn't say anything, we could leave."

"Unfortunately, _someone_ started talking inventions to Foaly. He was so impressed with Jazz's ideas he asked Trouble if she could work with him from time to time. By that time, our gear had been brought down. The type of things we used surprised the LEP." Willie looked back at Alexa.

"Among other things, we had two knives, five notebooks, a forensics kit, a surveillance kit, and an extremely thorough file on weird gas emissions in the area that were being caused by the chute. The three of us did research on different things, everything from homicide to global warming. We also had some basic files on some gangs and criminals we had brushes with."

Trouble leapt in. "Long story short, they astounded us. So we had these three sit down and explain. A couple hours later Ash, Foaly, and I decided that we should let them into the LEP. Vinyaya helped a lot there. It was difficult to convince the Counsel, but in the end, they allowed Jazz to be Foaly's assistant/intern, Alexa to train for Recon, and Willie for Retrieval One. Since then, they come down pretty much every day, and for entire weeks during break. Because of their slightly illegal activities before, Alexa and Willie will graduate in one to two semesters. Obviously, they'll be required to do stint in Traffic." Trouble smirked as both Alexa and Willie moaned.

"Actually, half the reason the Counsel even allowed them not to be mindwiped was because of you and Artemis Fowl. While obviously not genii, besides Jazz, they all show qualities advantageous to the LEP that Fowl can't supply." Foaly added. "The civilians still don't trust Fowl like the LEP do, so they certainly wouldn't trust three unknowns. Alexa, Jazz, and Willie aren't allowed anywhere civilians will be. I think that's all the classified events. Can I please show her the new gadgets now?" Foaly pleaded.

Trouble rolled his eyes. "Sure. Just show her the weapons and helmet. Alexa can show her everything else at the academy." He looked at Holly. "The Counsel decided last year that you would have to do a refresher course when you returned, if you choose to rejoin the LEP as Major Short. Actually, this could speed up Willie and Alexa's graduations considerably. What do you say?"

Holly barely contained a yawn. "Sure, whatever, I'll be more enthusiastic when I'm not half asleep. Unless the guns no longer use triggers, just tell me what new features are on the gun I'll be using."

Foaly pouted. "That'll be the Neutrino 5000. It has a built-in tracker, can be used to cut through doors, and grappling hooks. After the Koboi incident, I added several bugs created completely in stealth ore. That's the classified feature. Only the best officers get the 5000, most of the LEP uses the 4000. The data in the bugs can be accessed remotely and they are impossible to block. It also has the same functions as the 3000. The helmet is up to what Section 8 uses, so no need to know about that. If you want to be one of Jazz's guinea pigs, talk to her in a couple days when you can tell the difference between an aerosol can and a grenade. So far, her inventions have failed rather violently." Jazz shot him a death glare.

"I'd love to hear more about all this but if I don't fall asleep soon I'm going to go unconscious." Holly yawned. "I'm going home."

Trouble fidgeted, "Holly, I don't know how to say this nicely. Your apartment was demolished by Sool to create rehabilitation center. Alexa often crashes at my place, so you're welcome to go there too. Alexa, would you mind sharing a room with Holly?"

Alexa shrugged, "No problem. Some of my old things from when I was three might fit you. It'll be a bit embarrassing, but we can go shopping tomorrow. Let's go. See you tomorrow, Jazz. You too, Willie."

Trouble got out of the car and opened the door. Holly got up, took a few steps, and stumbled. Before Trouble could react, Alexa scooped Holly into her arms. "She's exhausted. I'll give her the bed. I can sleep on the couch. Do you want me to be there at the debriefing tomorrow?"

Trouble nodded, "Willie and Jazz, too, if you don't mind. Artemis might be able to arrange things for you topside in the future. Oh, could you tell Willie I'm putting him in charge of settling the demons? Vinyaya will help when needed. I know it's big, but your big project is tracking down fences and fairy gangs topside. He should have something to work on, too."

Alexa smiled softly, "Goodnight, Trouble." She carried Holly into the guestroom, now usually Alexa's room.

_Where am I? _Holly thought when she woke up. She was in a bed way too big for any fairy except a troll. Then she rolled over and saw Alexa. Last night's events came back in a rush. She watched as the girl slept. Unlike her two friends, she obviously had some European blood in her. Her skin was pale, but still darker than most Europeans. Her dark brown hair reached to her shoulder blades. When Alexa woke up, she knew she'd see the startling green eyes. The girl looked slightly taller five and a half feet. Holly had noticed how much taller the ceilings at Police Plaza were, and now she understood why. The LEP had obviously come into enough funds to remodel their headquarters. Lucky kids. Still, Holly looked forward to working with Alexa. Finally, another female in the LEP that wasn't a bimbo. _Okay, I'm sharing a room with Alexa, but where in Frond's name am I? _Holly got out of bed to find a LEP jumpsuit waiting for her. Kicking off her Section 8 suit (that was now ruined from soot and Abbott's dagger) she donned the LEP gear. Preparing herself for whatever was outside, Holly stepped through the door. _What the Hell?! _

In the kitchen, Trouble was making nettle smoothies. He looked up at the sound of the door. A heartwarming smile stole across his face. "Hey," he said softly. "You're up."

"Obviously," Holly replied sarcastically.

Trouble grinned. "Actually, I wasn't expecting you to be up for another couple of hours. I thought Alexa had woken up early."

Something tugged at Holly's heart. "Does she stay here often?" she asked.

"All the time. Her mother isn't really aware of anything, so Alexa spends most of her time in Haven. Now that it's summer break, Mrs. Detri thinks her daughter is spending the break with Jazz touring Europe. She reminds me of you. She's sarcastic. And she's been known to disobey orders for the greater good. A lot like you."

"Just a question. California is six hours from Haven. How the hell do they manage to come here everyday?"

"Another of Foaly's gadgets. He's spent so much time searching for rips in the time spell he developed a teleportation device. All three of them use it. You'll get one as soon as you come back from the Academy. It's highly useful."

Holly muttered. "I'll bet. When are we debriefing with Artemis?"

"A couple more hours. I gave you a shot of magic last night, so you're healing quicker. It's the full moon tonight, so I'm sending you up with Fowl to do the Ritual. See if you can spend the night at his house. He might need help with the twins."

"Twins?! Artemis has siblings!"

"Mrs. Fowl got pregnant almost as soon as Artemis disappeared. We've continued surveillance of Fowl manor. Myles and Beckett are quite the handful."

"Poor Artemis."

Holly turned out to be wrong about the last comment. Artemis still hadn't met with his parents yet. Rather, Minerva had visited and told him what happened since he had left. Artemis found himself surprised at how much Minerva had grown. She was now slightly older than him.

"Artemis, are you paying attention?"

"To a point, I am also thinking of the time paradoxes that must have been created."

"Time paradoxes are only created if you go into the past, not the future."

"Not if you return to the present time and change it to change the future."

"But if you were time traveling, what is the present time?"

"We can talk about this over dinner on Wednesday!" Artemis froze. Had he just asked Minerva on a date?

_Did Artemis just ask me out on a date?_ Minerva quickly covered her surprise. "Sure. How about that Italian Restaurant near the bridge?"

"Sounds fine to me." Artemis was still recovering from the shock. He shook his head as Minerva left Butler's cottage.

"So you're going on a date with Minerva? You're parents will be ecstatic." Butler asked, grinning.

"I don't know what happened. It just…slipped out."

"Probably for the best. If you had planned to ask her ahead of time, you would have been a nervous wreck. Asking the first time is the always the hardest. Do you want to go to Tara early?"

"Excellent idea, Butler." Artemis said with relief.

"This is the Hybras Time Tunnel Debriefing. Present are Commander Trouble Kelp, Foaly, PI Mulch Diggums, Major Holly Short, and Artemis Fowl. To arrive soon are Alexandra Detri, William Greene, and Jasmine Murot." Trouble spoke into a recording device.

"You're back in the LEP Holly? Impressive, as a Major too. Congratulations on becoming Commander Kelp." Artemis said. "Who are the three we are waiting on?"

"We're here, we're here. Sorry Trouble, someone tripped the alarm at E116, but that's sorted out now. There'll be a rumor spreading that there's nuclear waste in the area." A green-eyed girl about Artemis's age came through the door, flanked by an Asian boy and an African American girl.

"That's a good idea. Remind me to have Foaly start spreading rumors about safety hazards around the chutes."

"I realize that you're talking the safety of the People, but would you mind explaining why there are three teens in here?" Artemis demanded.

"Four, actually, including yourself. Teenage is thirteen to nineteen. And we've been visiting Haven for two years. We're the first humans in the LEP." Alexa said tartly. Willie and Jazz smirked.

"Nice Alexa. I'm Willie and this is Jazz. I'll be in charge of organizing the demons so would you mind explaining what happened on Hybras?" Willie asked.

For the next couple of hours Holly and Artemis reiterated their adventures. Then they reached where Abbot had stabbed Holly. "And then," Holly stole a glance at Artemis, "Abbot tried to stab me."

Artemis jumped in. "But he tripped. We recreated the time spell. During transit Holly and I swapped eyes." He pulled off his contact as Holly did the same for hers.

Trouble sighed and leaned back in his chair. "We can't do anything about that. Willie, I'm giving you a copy of the debriefing for your project. Holly I want you to go with Artemis and complete the Ritual tonight. I'm sending Alexa with you. She'll transport both of you back."

**A/N This is longer than I had planned. As this is the last chapter that doesn't have the OC and Artemis pairing, or the OC/OC pairing, hinted at, I want you to take a guess at who's being paired with who. I'll put a poll up in my profile for you guys to put your guesses in. I'm going to be on vacation for a week, so don't expect many updates for a while.**


	4. Gossip, Sabotage, and A Flashback

A/N This is really just a filler chapter that begins to set up all the romance

**A/N This is really just a filler chapter that begins to set up all the romance. Have any of you guessed what the pairings are?**

**Disclaimer: I own the plot, Alexa, Jazz and Willie. Everything else is Eoin Colfer's.**

**Gossip, and Rumors of a Date**

_Trouble sighed and leaned back in his chair. "We can't do anything about that. Willie, I'm giving you a copy of the debriefing for your project. Holly I want you to go with Artemis and complete the Ritual tonight. I'm sending Alexa with you. She'll transport both of you back."_

_Who would have thought riding in a limo could be so uncomfortable? _Alexa thought. It was a couple hours after the debriefing and she, Artemis, and Holly were in the back of the Fowl Limo. Suddenly, the phone rang.

"Hello Mother," Artemis answered formally.

"Some things have come up in the village so I shall remain here for a few days. I'll come back to Fowl Manor on Thursday. I have a date with Minerva on Wednesday." He paused as Mrs. Fowl talked some more.

"Yes, it is the same Minerva Paradizo. We were becoming friends before I disappeared. Actually, she was the reason I was in Taiwan to start with. We got into an argument about Time Paradoxes and we decided to resolve it over dinner." Another pause.

"Yes, Butler will be accompanying us. I have no doubt Minerva will also have a bodyguard. There is no need for chaperones." When Holly and Alexa realized what was going on, they burst into silent laughter. The great Artemis Fowl was going on a _date_! As Artemis glared at them, the girls hid their laughter behind their hands.

Willie and Jazz were talking to N01, Qwan, and Hadley Shrivelington Basset.

"What do Demons usually eat?" Jazz asked, hands poised over a keyboard.

"Rabbits!" Basset said at the same time as Qwan said, "Fish!"

Willie frowned. "Both of which are illegal in Haven. Voles are allowed, that's pretty much it. I suppose we could petition the Counsel to allow us humans to buy several rabbits topside and start a breeding program. It might take a while, until then you'd have to eat vole. Do we still have access to that mice farm, Jazz? You know, the one over in San Antonio?"

"I think so. There's no reason not to. We agreed not to turn them in for finances if they allowed us to use the facilities at any time. I suppose we could get a couple thousand of their Albinos. Last I heard, they were beginning to euthanize them. It'll help both us and the farm. There's not much we can say about fish, even humans have restrictions on that. We'd have to break into a hatchery, and we agreed not to do anything more illegal activities." Jazz frowned. "I think we have food covered. Qwan, we're going to have to introduce Demons back to the old ways slowly. So Basset and N01 should answer. At the moment, Both Haven and Atlantis are getting overcrowded. How many demons are there?"

N01 thought, "About six hundred." He looked at Jazz and Willie as their mouths popped open. "What?"

"So where do you live when you're not in Haven?" Holly asked as she and Alexa waited for nightfall.

"All three of us live in LA. You probably knew that, considering Jazz fell down E 116. We attend Venice Senior High School as Seniors. We skipped quite a few grades before Willie and I gained the "druggie" reputation. As it is, we're completing several courses on line. Jazz is just an outcast. It's well known her electives are college engineering courses." Alexa smirked.

"How did you manage to get a druggie reputation?" Holly asked, concerned.

"Not that hard. Everyone knows I live with my mom, and that she isn't the most aware person in the bunch. That, and my sister being a pothead set up an environment for addiction. Then, a teacher both Willie and I are close to was discovered to be a drug dealer. What is unknown to anyone is that Willie and I were the ones who turned them in. It became a cycle. We'd get close to someone, and then they'd be arrested for drug dealing. People began to make up reasons for why that happened. The reputation helps though. We can disappear for a week or more and people will assume we had to get more drugs or had accidentally ODed on something."

"Do you have any other friends?"

Alexa shrugged. "Not really. I don't trust people easily. I trust you because I trust the LEP, and Trouble trusts you."

"How long have you known Jazz and Willie?"

Alexa laughed. "What is this, the Inquisition? I've known Jazz my entire life, when my dad was around he and Mr. Murot were golf buddies. I met Willie five years ago, when he became an exchange student. His parents live on Wall street." She rolled her eyes, "Businessmen. Anyway, He was living with my sister's second boyfriend." She scowled. _Yeah, one of the ones that tried to rape me. Thanks to Willie he didn't succeed. _"I'd rather not talk about my family right now."

Holly was puzzled by Alexa's behavior. She was so vivacious and fun most of the time, but if you strayed into her past, she gained a pained expression. What had happened that hurt her so much?

"What did you think of Artemis, Jazz?" Willie asked as he leaned against a wall in the Ops Booth. Jazz was typing furiously into a computer.

"Hmm? Oh, I thought he was a jerk. I think he's jealous that we can come down to Haven whenever we feel like and he can't. He's also being rude to Alexa." Jazz answered distractedly.

"What did I tell you about multi-tasking?" Willie walked over and pulled out her Bluetooth. "I understand that you're naturally protective of Alexa when she's with a boy, we all are, but Holly's with her. I highly doubt anything will happen."

Jazz sighed, "I know, but can we really trust Holly? She's been gone for three years."

"The LEP does, so I guess we should. It'll take a while before we lose our doubts, but I think we should still trust her. Artemis is another story. The LEP doesn't trust him, and he is a criminal mastermind."

"Weren't we?"

"Yes, but we only broke the law to get others arrested, correctly. What exactly about Artemis don't you like?"

Jazz groaned. "He's so arrogant because he's considered a genius. I have higher IQ scores than him, but do I act like that? No. He has bodyguard, and he doesn't know how to defend himself. I intensely dislike physical activity, but I can use weapons and know self-defense. According to Foaly, he's changed a lot since he kidnapped Holly. Yet he still thinks he can boss others around. Did you notice his face when he asked why we were at the debriefing? He was livid. And that doesn't begin to cover the worst part. Did you notice how he kept looking at Alexa like a piece of art for purchase? He's seriously giving me the creeps."

Willie frowned, "No, I didn't notice. I'll keep an eye on it. Except I don't think I'll need to burst through doors with a frying pan again. Besides, you might not have been paying attention to her throat mic, but he's got a date with a Minerva Paradizo tomorrow."

Jazz's jaw dropped. "You're kidding!"

"No, I'm not. They got into an argument about the Time Paradox and he just asked her."

"Well, maybe we can teach him a bit of humility." Jazz grinned wickedly.

**A/N Guessed the Pairings? This chapter** **is kind of misleading. Pay attention to Alexa's thoughts. I changed it from a full blown flashback which was decidedly too graphic to this. **


End file.
